What We Do

The SLC Writing Program supports Cal undergraduates in their journeys to become more persuasive and more purposeful writers. Via student-initiated conferences and peer-facilitated workshops, our services seek to embolden students to take ownership of their writerly and scholarly growth.

Our Philosophy

Our program operates on the premise that writing is both a tool for intellectual discoveries and a means to social and personal empowerment. A writer, we believe, is someone who writes, and the act of writing itself is a fundamental human right. Our mission to support students to become stronger writers is both a professional responsibility and a social justice endeavor. Our praxis builds on the strengths of collaborative peer pedagogy. We leverage the tremendous drive, resourcefulness, and talents that our tutors and writers bring to the SLC to enhance the collective success and sense of community for all Cal students. By engaging in critical writing-center praxis and innovative peer pedagogy, we take pride in being a community where staff and students support one another to become independent thinkers, thoughtful writers, and positive agents for change.

Our Formats of Service

Our services are desgined to support writers at all stages of the writing process. Whatever written assignments you have - a response paper, a report, a literary essay, or a research project - we encourage you start early and come visit us often. You don't have to bring a complete draft to work with a tutor. Bring a prompt, rough ideas, or just reading notes, and we will work with you to build a solid foundation for your paper. Expand the sections below to see which format is for you.

Summer Service

Format Description

SLC Writing Service for Summer 2015 begins Wednesday, June 10, 2015.

The following formats of service are offered: Weekly Tutoring and By-Appointment Tutoring.

Weekly Tutoring allows you to meet with the same tutor each time, at least once a week and up to three times a week. This format is optimal for writers who want to practice writing as a process throughout the summer.

By-Appointment Tutoring allows you to sign up for a 50-minute session with a tutor as often as needed, up to two times a week. This is ideal for writers who want to engage in a focused feedback session to develop a particular assignment.

How to Sign up

Weekly Tutoring: Submit a Weekly Tutoring Request Form and attend a required Orientation Session (TBA). Once you submit the request form, we will send you a list of orientation times and dates.

Online Service

Format Description

Online Tutoring combines the flexibility and functionality of our existing formats with the convenience and accessibility of virtual technology. You can connect with a friendly tutor in real time from anywhere, using any device that has internet access. Whether you are brainstorming or working on the final draft of your paper, you can conference with a tutor from the comfort of your own home, study spot, or off-campus worksite.

How to Sign up

Note: Online Service is currently only offered during Fall and Spring Semester.

Schedule a 50-minute Online Appointment here, up to 24-hours in advance. A program representative will contact you to confirm your appointment within four (4) business hours.

How to Log on for Your Appointment

Our online service format is supported by Google+ Hangouts. This feature is available on your bMail account. At the time of your appointment, send your draft, notes, outline, and/or prompt from your bMail account to slcwritingpilot@gmail.com as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf attachment. The subject line should include your name and the date and time of your appointment.

You will receive an email from slcwritingpilot@gmail.com inviting you to join a video call. When you open the message, either a Chat window or Hangout window will appear. Click “Answer” if you see the chat window, and click “Join Hangout” to accept your tutor's invite.

If you do not see this email, wait a minute and refresh your screen.

You're all set to begin your session. When you're done, just click “Leave Call” to end the video chat. Happy conferencing!

How to Cancel

If you need to cancel your appointment, please contact the Writing Program at slcwritingprg@berkeley.edu with your full name and the day/time of your appointment. Please be sure to cancel at least 24 hours in advance of your scheduled appointment. Cancellations made less than 24 hours in advance are considered late cancellations. Note: Two late cancellations within one month can result in your tutoring privileges being suspended for the remainder of the semester.

Drop-In Service

Format Description

Drop-In Tutoring is ideal for writers who have already fulfilled the first half of their Reading and Composition requirement, and are working on an academic assignment for any course. Drop-In sessions are thirty minutes long, and tutors can assist with any stage of the writing process.

How to Sign up

Note: Drop-In is currently only offered during Fall and Spring Semester.

No prior scheduling is required. Simply come by the Drop-In Writing table in the Atrium of the Chavez Student Center during posted hours. Drop-In is open M-F 10-5PM.

By-Appointment Service

Format Description

Individual appointments with a Writing tutor can be scheduled in advance by students who are working on an academic assignment for any course. By-Appointment sessions are 50 minutes in length, and tutors can assist with any stage of the writing process.

Note: By-Appointment services open for Summer Sessions on June 10, 2015.

If you need to cancel your appointment and the By-Appointment system does not allow you to do so, please contact the Writing Program at slcwritingprg@berkeley.edu and indicate your full name and the date/time of your appointment. Please be sure to cancel at least 24 hours in advance of your scheduled appointment. Cancellations made less than 24 hours in advance are considered late. Note: Two late cancellations or no shows within one month can result in your tutoring privileges being suspended for the remainder of the semester.

Semester-Long Service (Formerly Individual Tutoring)

This format pairs a student writer with the same tutor for weekly meetings throughout the semester. Semester-Long Tutoring (SLT) is ideal for all students taking R&C-A courses.

How to Sign up

Note: Semester-Long Service is currently offered during Fall and Spring Semester only. Check back Fall 2015 to submit a request form for SLT or submit a Weekly Tutor request for the Summer-Long Tutoring services.

Submit a Semester-Long Tutoring request Form and attend a required SLT Orientation Session. Once you've submitted the form, we will send you a list of orientation dates & times.

Cal Scholars Write: Research and Composition Skills for the Global Age

R&C-B Writing Workshop Series || Fridays, 12:30-2PM, 151 Chavez

Facilitators: Sydney Rock and Cheyenne Overall

All students enrolled in an R&C course are eligible to take the workshop. For information on how to sign up, please contact the Writing Coordinator at kvn@berkeley.edu.

Workshop Series: Finish Your Thesis in Seven Weeks

The honors/senior thesis is an opportunity for undergraduates to advance knowledge in a meaningful and often transformative way. This hands-on, writing-focused workshop series covers strategies for finishing your thesis with time to spare. Come join a community of fellow thesis writers and find out how you can craft your findings into a coherent, compelling, and well-written thesis in seven weeks. Join us for one or all sessions! Scroll down to RSVP.

This workshop provides the roadmap for your research process over the next seven weeks. We will discuss strategies for making steady progress on your project and revisit the resources available to you on campus. You will leave with a concrete timeline for completing your project and the toolkit to move from your current draft to a successful final product.

Spring Break is often a productive time for thesis writers. With a break from your daily coursework, you can now focus on what you’re passionate about: Your research. This all-day retreat provides a focused space to immerse yourself in the writing process. You will engage in a series of exercises to inspire and activate the writer in you, and will leave with actual writing accomplished and the momentum needed to move forward.

This workshop covers strategies for organizing your readings into a lit review that sings. We will discuss concrete tools for organizing your sources’ arguments and putting your project in conversation with scholars in your field. You will come away with the know-how to generate a strong lit review - one that reveals the significance, originality, and potential of your research.

This workshop offers strategies for refining your research question and paper organization to reflect the shifting terrain of your project. We will review qualities of an intellectually significant research question, as well as strategies for plotting your chapters and presenting your findings in a coherent and concise manner. You will leave with a clearer understanding of the overall direction of your research, and a renewed sense of focus to complete your project.

This workshop is designed to get your writing juices flowing. We will cover creative strategies for sustaining your stamina and renewing your energy when working on a long-term writing project. Whether you are 5, 20, or 50 pages into your thesis, you will come away with the tools to stay inspired, focused, and motivated as you enter the last weeks of your project.

This workshop covers strategies for cultivating your critical eye to improve your paper. You will acquire the tools to deepen your analysis, bolster your organization, and enliven your writing. Whether you are incorporating your advisor’s feedback or restructuring an entire chapter, you will come away with an enhanced understanding that writing is rewriting and that the best way to strengthen your research is through revision.

Now that you’ve collected and pored through your data, written and re-written pages of your thesis, and are eager to see your vision come to fruition, you can count on this all-day writing retreat to provide you with the space, the push, and the camaraderie necessary to sprint through the finish line. You will be reminded of how far you’ve come and how little left you've got to go.

Workshop Series: Own the Researcher in You

As research increasingly becomes a hallmark of Cal undergraduate education, the ability to engage in research is both an indispensable skill for academic success and a great opportunity for intellectual transformation. This interactive, five-part workshop series is designed to support Cal undergraduates in their journeys to become scholars. Join us for a conversation about the function of research and explore the skills to strengthen your scholarly voice. Find out how you can animate the process of knowledge production and contribute to Cal’s mission as one of the world’s leading centers for research. Join us for one or for all sessions. Scroll down to RSVP.

Kick Start Your Research: Making Plans to Stay Ahead

Wed. March 11, 2015 || 5-6:30PM || 113 Chavez || Click here to RSVP

This workshop is designed to get you started on your research project. We will cover faculty expectations of research at Cal, walk through the structure of a research paper, and explore the resources available to student researchers on campus. From the Deep Web to the Main Stacks, you will acquire the know-how to navigate the research process at Cal. Whether you’re eager to get started or unsure where to begin, you will leave the session with a realistic and accomplishable action plan that will keep you engaged and on-track to finish strong.

This workshop offers strategies for bringing your research project into sharper focus. We will discuss qualities of a feasible research project, and explore elements of an intellectually significant research question. Whether you are overflowing with ideas or still looking for inspiration, you will come away with an enhanced understanding of how to choose your subject, identify your audience, focus your research effort, and approximate your research question.

Engaging with primary and secondary sources is integral to the research process. It informs your scholarly voice, shapes the direction of your research, and strengthens your claim. This workshop provides you with concrete strategies for analyzing and making meaning of your sources. You will leave the session with a healthy dose of scholarly skepticism and the skills to discern the validity and rigor of scientific evidence. Ultimately, you will understand how evidence can be used to convince the reader of your claim.

This workshop is designed to get your writing juices flowing. We will cover strategies for transforming your findings and observations into a coherent, well-supported, and well-written research paper. You will discover creative ways to stay committed to the writing process and allow your vision to materialize. Whether you’re still brainstorming or already working on a draft, you will come away with a sound structure for your paper, a clear plan of action, and a renewed motivation to reach the finish line.

Now that you have turned in your research proposal, carefully analyzed your primary and secondary sources, and produced a draft of your research paper, you could benefit from a discerning reader to help you strengthen your work. Our hands-on workshop will provide you with concrete strategies for becoming your own discerning reader. You will come to appreciate revision as an integral, and rewarding, part of the writing process, and will leave with the tools to bolster your critical eye, strengthen your organization, and enliven your writing.